The Gamine's Angel
by AHeartFullOfFeels
Summary: Eponine is just a girl living on the streets, no one notices her, except her brother... Or so she thinks.
1. Is this Hell? or Heaven?

The sun was rising out of its dark sleep, no clouds to keep back the bright rays of light illuminating the sky. The lightening sky was turning into many beautiful colors, pink and orange, red and purple all made the sky the most awe-striking sunrise. The grass softly swayed in the breeze as the earth awoke to the beautiful morning. In the grass sat a girl, who was letting the warm rays hit her softly, mixing with the gentle caressing breeze. Her long brown hair tumbled off her shoulders in a messy perfection as she sang softly to herself, her eyes closed, a small smile gracing her face. She could smell the fresh air and feel the freedom from any pain or sadness.

She stopped singing and sighed softly. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on the ground, against a dirty building. The street was filling with people who hadn't eaten or bathed in a long time, men, women, mothers, even children. Her ears rang with the sound of men begging for money or food, women trying to pretty themselves to sell their bodies to survive, mothers crying for lost children, orphans trying to find a friendly face.

Eponine rose to a sitting position, trying to remember every detail of her wonderful dream. The longing to be there again was almost painful, but maybe that was her empty stomach. She ran her fingers through her hair to somewhat make it almost decent, then, with a heavy heart, got up to start her day. She wandered through the streets for a while, trying to find something she could eat, or perhaps the object of her affections, the handsome boy from the rich family, her best friend Marius.

"'ello 'Ponine!" a young voice called from behind her.

She looked around to find the all-knowing Gavroche smiling up at her. His long blonde hair was dirtier than when she last saw him, and he was wearing a rosette pin like Marius wore.

"Haven't been causing to much trouble, have you?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Me? Trouble? I've simply been survivin' off the crumbs of humble piety." he said cheekily, holding a small bag of coins up proudly.

"That looks enough for a whole month!" she said, dumbfounded.

"I could share it with ya," the little boy said, dumping half of the contents out into his hand and holding them out to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked warily, her stomach telling her to just take it.

"Course! You're my sister, and I know you don't like to steal, even if its gonna save ya. Besides, I can always get more when this runs out."

Gavroche gave her the money, as her stomach showed its thanks.

"I haven't eaten in at least a week. By the way, what's that pin? I've seen Marius wear it, but never asked."

"This is the symbol of the revolution, to symbolize loyalty to the barricades that are gonna arise to fight to end the people's sufferin's, while the rich do nothin'. Marius is the newest member, Courfeyrac took him to a meetin'." Gavroche answered.

"Revolution? Barricades?"

"Yeah, Enjolras is the leader of the revolution. He explains it really well, I could take you to a meetin', there's one tonight."

Eponine looked at her brother's hopeful face, and agreed.

"Great! It's gonna be at the ABC Cafe, it always is."

After that, Gavroche waved goodbye and took off to find his boys, so he could show them the bag of coins.

Eponine then went into a shop and bought herself some bread, quickly devouring it before she was back on the street. She sighed in satisfaction and relief to have a not-so-empty stomach. She was walking down the street again, when someone grabbed her and pulled her into an alleyway.

"I hope you have some money for me," a harsh voice said.

She looked and saw her father, Monsieur Thenardier. She shook herself out of his grasp and defiantly said no.

"Liar!"

He slapped her, knocking her against the wall. She hit the bricks hard, and fell onto her hands and knees. He kicked her in the side, knocking her over fully. She laid there, fighting back tears and gasping for breath.

"I know you have it."

She shakily reached into her pocket and handed the precious coins to him.

"Good girl."

He took the money, kicked her once more in the same spot, and left her there alone in the shadows.

There Eponine lay, struggling to stay conscious, hurting like all hell. Usually when her father beat her, she would just walk it off, but she had been touched when her brother gave her money that he could use to feed him and his friends. The money being taken for the purpose of worthless things was weighting on her as much as the blows. Her side felt like it was on fire, and her head hurt from hitting the wall. She couldn't help the cries that emitted from her, as she started thinking of how much she hated her parents and just wanted to run away, or die.

_Die, why not die? No one would miss me... Marius wouldn't notice I was gone, and he wouldn't weep for me if he did. Gavroche would be sad, but he could move on, he's tough... why not just die... just slip away..._

Right before she let herself slip into the darkness, she saw the face of an angel appear above her. His hair was light as the sun and his eyes like a clear blue sky. He said something she couldn't understand, but his voice was strong yet gentle, soothing. She looked into the angel's eyes, then darkness washed over her.


	2. Awakening

"She probably passed out from the pain, she'll wake up soon," an unfamiliar young man's voice echoed through her ears as she started being able to hear again. She wanted to keep sleeping, but fear and panic of not knowing where she overtook her, and she opened her eyes to see a dark haired rich bourgeois boy standing next to her. She quickly sat up and tried to get away from the strange man,ignoring the agonizing pain it caused her. She was stopped by the angel. He was here, a commanding look in his gaze. She stopped, shaking because of the weakness in her body and the pain and the fear. The strange man told him to get her back on the cot. He took her hand in a strong, yet gentle, grasp. He put his other hand on her unbroken side to lower her back down. She flinched in pain.

"Now, Mademoiselle, you have two broken ribs, and you might have a headache for a while." the man said.

"Eponine. I hardly would count as a mademoiselle." she said, losing some of her fear to her old self.

"Well, Eponine, you might want to keep still for a while. That means you should stay here while you recover, unless you really must go home."

She nodded, signifying she wanted to go home.

"Well, that's all I can do for you as of now. If the pain gets worse within a few days, come back here, or ask the mistress for Joly."

She nodded again, the boy standing beside her said thanks, then Joly left.

"Thank you Monsieur," Eponine said to him.

"Enjolras."

"Enjolras? Do you know a little boy, Gavroche? Is he ok? Is he safe?" she asked in a flurry.

"Yes, Gavroche, he's fine... why wouldn't he be?"

"I just worried..."

She sat up again and stood, heading for the door.

"Where are you going? Walking will hurt you." Enjolras said in a questioning yet concerned tone.

"I'm not staying here, Joly said I could go home." She said with teeth gritted against the pain.

"I'll help you there then."

She looked at him, about to say no, then noticed that he looked pained. She said nothing as she turned away.

Enjolras was remembering finding her there, in the dark alley, broken and crying.

_He was walking through the slums, trying to ignore the stares of the poor as they eyed him for money. He was nearly to the street where the Cafe was, when he heard crying. The cries in the dark that nobody heard, they were from a girl, coming from the alleyway. The cries tugged at his 'marble heart' as he drew nearer, seeing the figure of a girl lying on her side. He was close enough now to see her face, his blood running cold as he recognized her as the girl who always followed Marius, Eponine. Her cries had stopped as she started slipping away from consciousness. He dropped down next to her._

"_Eponine, stay with me. I'll get you to Joly, he can fix you. Eponine!" he had said in vain as the gamine looked up at him before passing out. He then picked her up easily, and carried her to the Cafe._

He stopped her.

"You're going to hurt yourself if you walk. At least let me carry you."

She looked at him with a spark of defiance in her eyes, but took another step and felt the sting in her side, then warily agreed. He picked her up easily, carrying her bridal style as they went out the door.

"How did you get this hurt in the first place?" Enjolras asked curiously.

Eponine was silent for a moment before responding, "My father."

Enjolras looked horrified as he said, "Your father did this to you?!"

"I tried to stand up to him, told him I didn't have the money. But I guess he saw Gavroche give me the money, he knew I was lying. That's why I asked if Gavroche was alright, I was worried he'd find him."

"So he beat you and took your money...?"

She nodded. She saw that they were near the slums and said, "This is far enough."

He looked confused for a moment, before realizing her destination.

"You live in the slums?"

He didn't really know why he hadn't realized, with her clothes being tattered and dirty, and her waist as scarily tiny as it was.

"No, you can't go back there like this." Enjolras said with a commanding tone.

"I have no where else to go..." she practically whispered.

"You'll come to my house then. I have a spare bedroom, you'll sleep in there."

There was no suggestion in his voice, he'd made his mind up, and the command was final. She said nothing, too tired and both emotionally and physically hurt to argue. He saw the pain on her face, and saw the horrors and sorrow and fear her eyes held in them, the innocent brown eyes that had seen more in a week than Enjolras had in all his life. He was outraged, that the king could just sit on his throne uncaring while a young girl with so much potential goes through these things everyday. He held tighter to her as he started to his own apartment.

It did not cross his mind that he had forgotten about something very important.


	3. Poor Eponine

Enjolras couldn't help but think that he had forgotten something. Very important.

It came to him as he opened the door to his apartment and saw it. His forgotten factor.

A very drunk Grantaire was sprawled out on the couch, looking up when he heard the door open.  
"All hail the mighty sun god, he has returned to meeee... and he has brought a ladyfriend! Such a dirty girl she is. What is the mighty Apollo doing with a street girl?"  
"Grantaire, leave us be. Go back to sleep." Enjolras recovered from slapping himself mentally.  
"But I was never asleep, your sun was keeping me awake." Grantaire slurred.  
"The night is here now. The moon and stars are out, the sun is gone. Go to sleep now."  
Grantaire obeyed, passing out on the couch.  
Enjolras took Eponine, who watched the scene with confusion and amusement, to the empty bedroom.  
It wasn't very exciting, just a bed and a chest for belongings, but to Eponine, it was like being in the room of the King.  
"It's not much–" Enjolras started.  
"It's more than enough. I usually don't even have a bed. Only when I go to my father... and it's sleeping on rags and old sheets."  
Enjolras nodded solemnly.  
"You can stay for as long as you want. Or, as long as I say you must. I'm not letting you sleep on the streets while you recover. And especially not in danger of your father hurting you again."  
"Monsieur, there's no need for this. I have gone through this before, I would be fine on the street."  
Enjolras looked furious as she said this, his eyes blazing.  
"You've gone through this before!?"  
"Well, not quite as bad, but yes." Eponine said, looking a little scared.  
Enjolras shook his head. He closed his eyes, turning his head away from her while he calmed himself down. He looked back at her.  
"Poor, lives on the streets, father beats her, loves a man who doesn't care. The sad life of poor Eponine."


	4. Healing is Apollo's Power

Enjolras was sitting in in his living room, reading on his couch.  
Eponine was standing in the doorway, unsure whether or not to come in. She didn't want to interrupt his contentment.  
She made a move to head back to her room; Enjolras looked up at the sound.  
"Sorry, I was just leaving.." she said apologetically.  
"It's alright. You can come in if you want."

Eponine shyly walked in, not looking at Enjolras' blue orbs, usually so cold and calculating. She looked up for a moment to see that they were so unusual, full of concern and gentleness of which she had never seen from anyone except Gavroche. Not even from Marius did she seen this emotion. Pity was all that she saw from him. Marius pitied her, felt sorry for her. Enjolras was acting like a better friend, _lover?_, than Marius ever had.

"This is your home until you are recovered, you are free to go wherever you want," Enjolras said with a small smile. "Although, I would advise against going in Grantaire's room. I don't even want to know what it's like in there..."

Eponine let out a small giggle at that, surprising herself. She sat down on the couch next to him. She looked at the papers he was holding.  
"What's that?"  
"Just... you know, revolution stuff."  
She looked at him suspiciously. She looked at them, trying to figure out what it said. She could see the name of "Jean Prouviare", the poet of the group. She recognized the way it was written as the poems that he'd been writing at an earlier meeting. She smiled coyly.  
"These are Jehan's poems."  
She laughed as he tried hard to hide a blush, while trying to come up with another excuse.  
"Okay, fine. I was interested to see what he was writing. He's my friend, so what does it matter?" he said in a defensive tone.  
Eponine just continued to laugh, even though it was starting to hurt her.  
"You have a great laugh," Enjolras said, shutting her up immediately, "and you've probably hurt yourself. Are you alright?"  
"I'm fine. My side is just sore still."

Enjolras put his hand on her ribs gently. His other hand went to her's, holding it with that same gentleness. Eponine stared at him, confused but content, to her surprise. Enjolras was staring, almost sad in a way, at her scrawny, fragile, damaged body. His eyes moved up to her eyes, seeming to stare directly into her damaged soul.

"I promise, I swear to God, nothing like this will happen to you again. Nothings going to harm you, not while I'm around."

And for as broken as Eponine seemed, she didn't feel like she was damaged at all.

* * *

**Author's note: I finally figured out how to put that line in! *Audience cheering* **I'm currently in the musical Sweeney Todd, so I literally just put the lyrics/song title of on of my favorite songs from it. That's all I wanted to say.


	5. Midnight Afterthoughts

Eponine felt Enjolras' words echo in her head for hours. She was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, reliving the day in her head, and trying to figure out what they meant, how she felt.  
'_I can't fancy him... or can I? I mean, I have to admit that I caught myself staring at him at times during meetings, that I felt a little different when our eyes met... No, I love Marius. But he doesn't share those feelings... Should it be good that I move on from him? So maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I were to fancy Enjolras..._' she fought with herself mentally, '_But... it would be the same... Enjolras is rich, more so than Marius. He wouldn't love me... He'd pity me like Marius... I'm a street girl, he's a bourgeois boy... He would never fancy me..._"  
Eponine sighed and shifted, feeling even lonelier than she had before as she fell asleep.

Enjolras paced quietly around his room, quietly whispering to himself, unknowingly sharing the topic of thought of Eponine.  
"Enjolras, what is wrong with you? You promised yourself you would get over those.. feelings, of sorts, for this street girl. The revolution is closer than ever and you are sitting here, thinking about a gamine... with her firey spirit and her long brown hair and her fair skin and her eyes... those beautiful eyes, so dark and deep, filled with such a fear and sorrow and determination–" he cut himself off, blinking away the admiringly lovey tone.  
"Snap out of it!" He whispered harshly to himself.  
He sat on the bed and ran his fingers through his curly blonde hair. He sighed, shaking his head.  
"What do your silly feelings matter anyways? She's in love with Marius. She wouldn't share the same feelings..."


End file.
